Steel, aluminum, and other types of metals may be produced and/or refined in a metallurgical furnace such as an electric arc furnace and the like. Such a furnace may generate large volumes of hot flue gases. Such hot flue gases may contain particulates, sublimates, and other types of pollutants. The hot flue gases thus must be cleaned to remove such pollutants before the gases are released to the environment or otherwise used or processed. Before cleaning, the hot flue gases may be cooled in a heat exchange assembly. The heat exchange assembly may include a number of gas tubes contained within an outer jacket. The flue gases may flow through the gas tubes with a coolant flowing within the outer jacket for heat exchange therewith. Once cooled, the flue gases may pass through a fabric filter and the like so as to trap and separate the particulate matter from the flue gases.
The particulate matter, however, may tend to build up over time on the walls of the gas tubes. Such a buildup may impact on the overall efficiency of the heat exchange assembly. The heat exchange assembly thus requires regular maintenance. Specifically, the gas tubes may be manually cleaned with rotating brushes, water jets, and/or other types of cleaning devices. As a result, the electric arc furnace and the heat exchange assembly may be offline for an extended period of time for cleaning and maintenance.